When I got my gluten free sentence I handled it pretty well and the only gluten I really panicked about giving up was Jewish gluten. How in the world would I manage without my weekly challah and matzoh at Passover and hamantaschen at Purim and....bagels? No bagels? Seriously?My first scouting trip to New Cascadia was all about the bagels--would they suffice? Sadly, no. Maybe when I've been on this crazy diet for longer they will work for me but for now I am sorry to say I don't love them. I like a good, chewy bagel but theirs are too tough for me and they have this mysterious weird flavor I've tasted in everything I've tried there. I've tried Udi's "bagels" but apart from having a hole in the center there's nothing in common with bagels. Insulation maybe, but not my beloved bagels.
Part of me knows that, because I will always be disappointed by poor imitations, I should just give up on the bready quest. But the call of the bagel is powerful and yesterday I tried some Glutino sesame bagels and was very pleasantly surprised. They still have that weird flavor present in so many gf baked goods (what is that, anyway?) but they have the right texture and they toast up nicely. At over $6/bag I don't expect to eat them often but it's nice to know there's something out there that will satisfy my need for bagels when nothing else will do.
2 comments:
Terrific blog!
I've not gotten a simliar "sentence," but, honestly, I've wondered if I might have some sort of gluten-related auto-immune thingy goin' on. I've always had crazy sinus problems, etc. I've thought about doing a little "eliminate gluten" experiment...but, like your dismay at giving up Jewish gluten, I've got a short list of things that I just don't know if I could ever leave behind.
Thanks for giving me something to think about, and for sharing your experience!
Hi Thomas--thanks for stopping by! Yeah, life without bagels and challah is tough, for sure. I am not loving it and have even had my first bagel dream--bad sign, right?
I went ahead and had myself tested for gluten sensitivity. I wanted proof before giving up my bagels. Unfortunately I did test "highly sensitive" to gluten. That result, coupled with autoimmune thyroid disease, tells me that I need to give this a go. I am going in for thyroid blood work soon. If I see any improvement in my antibody levels then that will be the push I need to stay on this diet.
I don't actually feel any different after 2 months gluten free so that proof is definitely needed for me to stay the course.
If you do decide to get tested for gluten sensitivity, make sure you are eating gluten when you get tested. Otherwise you won't have very accurate results. And if you decide to try eliminating, you really need to commit 100% or you're not likely to notice anything. I'm told cheating really messes things up.
Good luck to you!
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